Friday Morning, My "Ranger" Sunday!

The Tetons and Jackson Hole are officially warm. The Temps have sustained 70 -81 degrees for two weeks now. The wildflowers are in bloom and the vistors to the park have increased exponentially. It is a beautiful place to be.




Earlier in the week, as I commuted down to Jenny Lake for work, I was thinking that I had not seen a bear in a couple of weeks. And, "low and behold," I went only a mile further and there were two black bears, one brown and the other black. I surmise that one is a female the other a male. We are nearing the end of their mating season and males will often follow a female around for a week or two during this period. But, alas, they will go their separate ways in a week or so. If she has a good summer and fall foraging, when she dens in November her eggs will implant in the uterus. Cub, or cubs will be born in February in the den.

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What is interesting to me is that I did not see any black bears when I first arrived in May. All I saw were Grizzlies (which in the past I almost never saw). But, now, all I am seeing are blacks.
That is your Natural History lesson for today Kiddies!


The Fourth of July is coming up in a week and the park will be over-run with vistors. Shortly after that my niece Kimberly and her family will be here. I am looking forward to seeing them. This will be their third trip here, more than any other of my visitors except a couple of my friends. With the exception of a combined visit with her sister's family (Kelly) a few years ago, these are the only family members to come here during my tenure as a ranger.


I am headed off to do a hike before it gets to warm. Then, perhaps, I will got to a movie in town, which means my next blog may have a movie review. I have only been going to films intermittently this summer as I have stated before, the pickings are lean.




Ciao, from beautiful "downtown" Colter Bay, garden spot of the Jackson Hole Valley and Grand teton National Park.

Passing of the 60s

Guess I am getting old . . . this morning with hearing of the passing of George Carlin I have been waxing nostalgic with memories of my favorite and most influential decade, the 60s. Carlin represented a different kind of humor. Yes, Lenny Bruce was more outrageous and a pioneer, but he was not, in my opinion as downright funny as George. His comedy was satire of the human condition, while Lenny's was more angry.

It is not that I listened much lately to Carlin, but he was the voice of that time for me. We all, among my close friends, tried to imitate his humor and demeanor. He was a great commentator for that period. I am greatly saddened by his loss.

The 60s for me was first Junior and High School, then it was on to the Army. After that it was college and the Viet-Nam anti-war movement. During that time an important event for me personally occurred, the birth of my first daughter. There were good times of that era (maybe the best in my life) with my friends Ronnie (now deceased), Paul, Angie, and a few others. These days only one of those friends from that time remain, Paul, and I see him infrequently.

We lost our innocence then, both as a country and as individuals. The losses of the Kennedy brothers, Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers, and others contributed greatly to this time of change. Sadly, all the "peace and love" many of my generation preached about has turned to decades of gluttony and a "me" orientation. And, we are again involved in a war we should not be in, conducted by leaders who never had to serve in the military (non-war National Guard service does not count Mr. President). Again the lives of young people are being wasted on a "bogus" premise.

So, I say Good-Bye to that earlier time and to George Carlin! As Crosby, Stills and Nash said, "the past is just a good-bye."

What a Difference a Week Makes!

Last Thursday I communicated that the snow and rain were still with us in the Tetons/Jackson Hole, with pictures to back me up on it. Well, guess spring/summer are here now! By Friday of last week, the very next day, we began having sunny and warmer days, in the 70s. This Saturday it is supposed to be 80 degrees.

All but the highest trails have begun to melt out, but are still a bit sloppy in places. Afterall ,that is a lot of water to displace. The wildflowers have begun to come out, most prominent are the Arrowleaf Balsam Root, which are usually fluorescent in May. The Lupine are also making their emergence as well. It is another beautiful time to be here.

As alluded to above, I think we might move right into summer with very little spring, especially since tomorrow is the Summer Solstice. It is the longest day of the year and the outmoded Gregorian Calendar marking of the first day of summer. So one should go out celebrate as many cultures have and do. It is marked by rituals customary to many diverse groups.

I am off tomorrow and have visitors from Prescott, a former colleague from Yavapai College and her husband. My suggestion for an activity,when we get together, will be to mark the solstice with a nice hike. It will not be a long one, nor one that goes into the mountains, but a three miler to a lake with great views. I think this a fitting recognition of the day.

Alas, the movie situation is no better this week in Jackson so I will again forego it. I did end up going to "Sex and the City" last Friday for lack of new offerings. All I can say is that it will satisfy those who were fans of the TV series (like my youngest offspring). But, as for the rest of us, it is an overly long and vapid display of materialism. I enjoyed parts of it but it could have ended several times. It suffered from a lack of good editing. It was not really a "theater" movie, more suited to a TV finale, which will be my finale for this time too!

See you on the flip side . . .

Just Another Late Spring Day in the Tetons!

A Snowy morning at Colter Bay here in Grand Teton National Park!

As you can see the weather is a bit unsual here in Grand Teton National Park for this time of year. It has snowed the last two days and is at the moment raining. The visitors to the park are not all that enthusiastic about it all. I love it. Every morning, or at least for the last few days, Yellowstone Park has closed their roads until snow can be cleared off of passes. They usually open by mid-morning but park visitors tend to pile up down in this park as we are on average a thousand feet lower.

We are trying to figure out if summer will be here on the actual date of the solstice, or not. There has not been much of a spring so far . . . has delayed most of the seasonal flowers. Hope is in the forecast. Temps are supposed to move up tomorrow and through the weekend. I hope so, for one reason, I haven't been able to take a hike yet. As it is, hiking will still be limited on mountain trails for a while. My favorite trail to Amphitheater Lake will not be hikeable by the likes of me until about July.

Old Ranger in the Tetons

One interesting phenomena we have encountered is visitors comments about Global Warming. Many seem to think that all this "chilly" weather means that we do not have anything to worry about. But, what they do not understand is that all these climatic changes are a part of it. The abnormal fluctuations are actually indications of the process. We are not out of the woods, and need to be concerned!

And it goes on, Life that is . . .

Howdy Folks,


Do not have much to tell you since the last posting. Although, our weather has turned a bit on the winter side again, just seems to want to hang on until summer. I had my second late evening program last night and we had snow. By the time the program started at 9:30pm the temp had gone down to 30 degrees. There were about 14 stalwart souls who were in attendance for the program. Last Tuesday's evening program, my first of the season, was in a continuous downpour of rain. I would not have sat through it myself but 6 individuals did so. Needless to say these were not tent campers, but RVers who could return to their warm mobile abodes.


There were no movies once again for my weekend (Thursday & Friday), or least none of the normal bill of fare. They are having the Jackson Hole Film Festival currently but these films were scheduled at odd times, never fitting into my schedule. I had contemplated going to see "Sex and the City," but could not bring myself to actually do it. The reviews have been fairly bad except for those that say fans of the TV series will like it as coming to "closure" with the characters and their lives.


In addition, Friday, June 6th was the second anniversary of my mother's death and I was feeling a bit of melancholy. It seemed that the above mentioned movie was just too frivilous for my mood. My mom was a great mother even though her choice in men was not all that great. I keep thinking that I will never see her again in this life and sometimes that seems so unfair. But I am glad for that portion of her 82 years that she was a part of my life.



My mother and her children at her 80th B-day

Yellowstone River flowing in Hayden Valley,
Mt. Washburn in the background

Greetings from my intermittent blog. It seems now that I am back to work, the busy requirements of a "lead" ranger have exhausted me to the point where my motivation, and time seem to be directed to other venues. Today I have a late start and will present my first evening campfire program of the season.

The snow is melting here and some of the valley trails are finally accessible but are, in many case, a bit sloppy. To aggravate this we are getting our usual June rain storms. But, all of this does not keep our more intrepid visitors to the park from getting "out there." And, in fact, on my next days off I will attempt my first hike of the season, a modest 4 miler in the Taggart Lake area.

On a continuously rainy last Friday I again traveled up to Yellowstone to traverse the eastern lower loop (by car). We get a lot of questions about our sister park and I always feel the need to visit to better inform our vistors. I stopped off at Fishing Bridge and Canyon visitor centers in that endeavor. Both of these are my favorites in that park.


Fishing Bridge Visitor Center, Yellowstone

Between the two visitor centers, travelling through the beautiful Hayden Valley, I was able to spot another Grizzly and her cub. It is amazing to me that for my first 7 years as ranger in this area I only ever saw one. It is wonderful to see all of these bears doing well throughout the Greater Yellowstone Ecological System.





In addition, we have begun to see black bears as well. The other evening my friends Bob, Ben and myself saw a black bear and her cub take down an elk calf. I know for some of you this seems cruel, but it is the way of the natural world. Remember, even down to the molecular level, everything eats everything else, it's part of the chain/cycle of life.

"Now for something completely different" (credit Monty Python) . . .

Brief movie reviews . . . as mentioned before there are a dearth of good films in late spring and early summer. However, I liked the new "Indiana Jones" film. It was not the best of the series and as many reviewers said you either love or hate it depending on whether you are a fan. I happened to be one and for pure escapism it fills the bill. A truly excellent movie, and winner of the best Foreign Film Oscar this year, is the Austrian flick "The Counterfieters." It is based on the true story of Jewish concentration camp inmates being used by the Nazis to make British and American currency during WWII to flood the market and destroy the economies of their enemies. The acting is wonderful and the script serves the story well.

Jackson, WY with it's fairly mixed population (a lot of wealthy, well educated second home owners, combined with cowboys, river runners and a myriad of outdoor types)) sometimes, surprisingly, brings some nice international and independent films to town. Currently they are quietly having a small spring festival with two a week of their seven screens being taken up with that fare. But as the summer proceeds the larger summer "blockbusters" will take over.

Thats about it for this time from beautiful "downtown" Colter Bay, garden spot of Grand Teton National Park. Catch you all on the "flip side!"